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July 13, 2017

Elementary Season 5

When it’s not functioning as simply another CBS police procedural and allows for character and bigger plot, Elementary is my favorite modern take on Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock’s struggle with sobriety, his attempts at relationships both professional and personal, Watson being a woman who isn’t there just to sleep with Sherlock, her backstory as surgeon and her introduction as sober companion, and their ongoing relationship are all bright spots that far outshine the visceral pulp-action of the Robert Downey films.That brightness certainly works better than Sherlock. The BBC show about the "high-fuctioning sociopath" suffocated under the full weight of every-single-one of the worst flaws found in the writing of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. Unappealing and impossible-to-relate-to characters acting smug in ridiculous plots that are badly paced and fizzle out in arrogant and unsatisfying endings.Hulu recently added Season 5 of Elementary and so far it’s been a disappointment. So many of the plots are generic and forgettable, easily serviced by any other set of characters from any of the countless procedural shows. The real meaty character stuff has been few and far between. When it’s there, it’s been unfulfilling (like Sherlock’s relationship with Fiona). And all due respect to Nelsan Ellis but the Shinwell plot is terrible and hollow, the character is completely transparent as an eventual impetus for Joan pursuing some kind of revenge.

If the show stays like this for the rest of the season, I might be done with it.